Two Hells Angels bikers wounded in Peninsula clash

BROADMOOR -- Two Hells Angels were shot and wounded -- one critically -- during an apparent clash Saturday with a rival motorcycle gang at a Mexican restaurant, authorities said Tuesday.

The gunfire came as members of the Vagos and Wanted motorcycle clubs, at least 40 bikers total, were meeting at Estrada's Mexican Restaurant on Mission Street. But because the victims, men who are 37 and 41 years old, got themselves to San Francisco General Hospital and have been uncooperative, the full details of what happened remained obscured, Broadmoor police Chief Dave Parenti said.

The Vagos and Hells Angels, which federal and state authorities have labeled criminal gangs involved in guns, drugs and prostitution, have violently clashed in recent years. One high profile incident at a Sparks, Nev., casino in Sept. 2011 ended with the president of the San Jose Hells Angels chapter, Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew, shot to death. A Vagos leader has been charged with the killing.

Police believe local Hells Angels learned of the gathering at Estrada's and during a subsequent confrontation at least five shots were fired around 7:50 p.m. Investigators are seeking to gather surveillance footage from nearby businesses because witnesses have been unwilling to talk.

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Authorities have not made any arrests in connection with the shooting, which left one man wounded in the arm and the other shot in the stomach. They also have not identified any suspects. Police took one biker into custody near the restaurant Saturday on a warrant that was unrelated to the shooting.

In the wake of the shooting, police from several police departments rushed to the 7400 block of El Camino Real, but found only empty bullet casing. The victims weren't discovered until they turned up at the hospital and staff alerted San Francisco police, who then notified Broadmoor officers.

However, South San Francisco officers arrested five associates or members of the Vagos as a group of about 30 of the club's riders and two other vehicles rolled through the city Saturday night. Police said they found five handguns and a shotgun in the two vehicles.

It doesn't appear those men could have pulled the trigger in Broadmoor because police pulled them over about 20 minutes before the shooting, Parenti said. Police initially said the Vagos riders were stopped after the gunfire.

The five Sacramento-area men arrested on gun and gang charges have since been bailed out or released from San Mateo County jail, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. Prosecutors will not file charges now, but the investigation into the guns was continuing, Wagstaffe said.

As for whether Saturday's shooting would prompt retaliation from the Hells Angels, Parenti said it was likely.

"These people are going to take it upon themselves to handle it," he added.